


Lost Memory

by violetstorm



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, KHUX - Freeform, Memory Loss, the rest of the trios make an appearance too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 05:32:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16056548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: Ventus dreams, of a town with purple-tiled roofs bathed in the morning sun, of a war, of four people called friends.





	Lost Memory

**Author's Note:**

> Minor spoilers for KHUx, I guess? Enjoy!

Ventus was too old for imaginary friends.

He wasn’t a kid anymore (as he tended to remind Terra and Aqua every minute of every day). He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He had _real_ friends. Terra and Aqua and Sora and Riku and Kairi and Lea and everybody else.

He was _far_ too old for imaginary friends and he didn’t _need_ them.

And yet, when he’d fall sleep, he would dream.

Most of his dreams were blurs of colours and voices and faces that would vanish when he woke up, but there was one particular dream that stuck out to him.

It was as clear as day, and there were five of them in total. He could see every single detail in each of their appearances, from those mischievous, sparkling eyes hiding under blue-black hair to the red, _red_ scarf clashing with white hair. They spoke in voices that sounded like bells, and they all had keyblades, too.

The only thing missing was their names. 

His dreams always took place in a town with purple-tiled roofs and paved cobblestone streets; with a fountain in a town square and a clocktower that casted a shadow over the entire town; a town painted in the colours of the morning. It felt like home, and maybe it was his home.

They were his friends in his dream and they felt so _real,_ like it was a memory and Ventus would always, without fail, wake up with the ghostly feeling of their touch on his skin and an inexplicable sadness.

* * *

  _“Where’d you learn that, Ven? I've never seen anybody use that before, not even Master Eraqus.”_

_“Terra!” Ventus had smiled, waved with his free hand. He lowered his keyblade, letting the tension from training drain out of his body. “I didn’t see you there. Master Ira taught it to me earlier. It’s pretty cool, isn’t it? He said that only the most experienced of keybearers can use that technique! ...Terra?_

_“Who’s Master Ira?" Terra began. "Did another keyblade master stop by here? I thought it was just Master Xehanort and Master Eraqus.”_

_Ventus paused, taking a moment to think. “Nobody visited here. I said Master Eraqus, didn’t I?” Terra only shook his head._

_“You said Ira. Was that… someone you knew before...?” Before you lost your memory, Ven assumed._

_“No, I don’t remember anything. I don’t even know where that name came from.”_

* * *

 He told Terra and Aqua about them once. At first, they humoured him. What, we’re not good enough friends for you, they had said. Then time moved and they began telling him that it wasn’t good to be relying on imaginary friends, that Ven should have outgrown them, that he needed to focus on what was _real._

_(but they felt so real)._

Ven stopped telling them about his “friends” after that— why would he? It was an insult to his friends, the fact that he needed imaginary ones and the fact that he cared about those imaginary ones as much as he cared about his real ones.

* * *

  _Ven craned his neck to peer over Ienzo’s shoulder, struggling to make head or tail of whatever was going on the computer screen. The words and numbers rushing across the screen looked like complete and utter gibberish. The scientist sighed, moving aside— not to give Ven room, but to block his view completely._

_“Hey, what gives?!”_

_“I would much rather prefer working without you breathing over my shoulder,” Ienzo barely spared Ven a glance out of the corner of his one visible eye, typing away on that keyboard of his._

_“I liked you better when you were shorter than me,” Ven said, sitting back and crossing his arms._

_Ienzo scoffed. “Whilst I liked you better when you were asleep.”_

_“What? Is it because I talk too much? Or is it because I’m right?” Ven taunted. Ienzo didn’t humour Ven with an answer, so he kept going. “How does it feel being wrong for once, Blaine?"_

_“What?”_

_“I said that you were wrong and...” Ven trailed off, confusion clouding his eyes as he realized what he said. Judging from Ienzo’s tilt of the end and inquisitive look, he’d caught it too. “Sorry, I meant to say Ienzo.”_

_Thankfully, Ienzo—_ not Blaine— _didn’t press on._

* * *

 Sora, Riku and Kairi were nice, but didn’t offer much help either.

Sora didn’t make fun of him for it; he was the exact opposite actually. What do they look like? Can you draw them for me? What’s their personalities like? How’d you meet them? Where do they live? What type of magic can they use?

Questions and questions flew forth from Sora’s mouth and Ven answered every one, unsure of just _where_ he was getting those answers from. Kairi was the same, but she was a lot more calmer than Sora when she was asking her questions.

“Maybe you _did_ know them before you lost your memory,” she finally said and it was the most plausible explanation, so Ven accepted it.

Riku, on the other hand, made fun of Ven over it, in that typical teasing-to-show-my-affection-because-I’m-too-wussy-to-say-affectionate-stuff-outright fashion of his. But when he saw that Ven was serious, he said something along the lines of "Listen to what your heart says. If they're real, you'll know."

* * *

 " _Larxene,_ man, _is she a bitch,” Lea offered as way of explanation. “She fights with knives, a whole lot of them, and electricity. You don’t wanna be on the receiving end of that, trust me. Ignore everything she says, she just loves riling people up. Oh, and watch for her kicks too, she does a lot of them."_

_Mentally, Ven took notes. If he was really going to join the fight against the darknesses, he needed to know everything about every member, no matter how… questionable the source of information was._

_“She was best friends with Marluxia,” Lea continued, his sarcasm something even Ienzo would have been proud of. “No surprise they’re both with Xehanort again.”_

_“Which one’s Marluxia again?”_

_“He’s got pink hair, a shitton of flowers and a scythe? Uses big words to sound important, over-dramatic as hell?”_

_“Huh,” Ven said. “He sounds a lot like Lauriam.”_

_“Lauriam? Who the hell’s that?”_

_Ven faltered, racking through his memory, coming up empty. “I… don’t know.”_

* * *

 Roxas and Xion were the greatest help by far.

“It’s probably more than just your dreams, Ven,” Xion said. “They must be your memories. I… had a lot of dreams too, when I was with the Organization. Later, I found that that those dreams were just my memory of Sora. Or… I guess saying it was Sora’s memory is more accurate?”

“Xion’s right, Ven,” Roxas chipped in. “I kept getting flashbacks to Sora when I was out doing missions and stuff like that.”

“But how do I know they're not just a dream?” Ven argued, though the two were unyielding.

“They’ve gotta be your memories. There’s no other explanation for it.”

Xion smiled. “You don’t need to worry, Ven. We’ll help you find out who your friends are and where they are.”

 _But I’m not even sure if they’re real,_ Ven wanted to say, but he held his tongue. Xion had said exactly what he wanted to hear, after all, even if he couldn't quite believe those words himself. Not yet, at least.

* * *

  _Ven ran his fingers along the edge of his bracelet, feeling the fabric underneath his fingers, its weight a comfort on his arm. He couldn’t remember a day he went without it and he wouldn’t go a day without it._

_It was stupid, but having a bracelet, even if it was only a bad imitation of the one in his dreams, helped him feel closer to his friends._

* * *

Lea, Roxas and Xion loved watching the sunset. They’d get their sea-salt ice creams and sit high up on Radiant Garden’s castle, or on the clock tower of Twilight Town and watch the sun set. The colours were always pretty, watching the sky bleed red-orange-yellow, but Ven preferred to watch the sun rise.

Saying goodbye to the stars and watching daybreak come was comforting, somehow, like a warm blanket being draped over his body.

* * *

 " _What is_ that, _Ven?” Aqua asked incredulously._

_“Isn’t it pretty?” Ven thrust the flowerpot close to Aqua’s face, and she backed away, grimacing. “I found them myself from the garden.”_

_“Ven…”_

_“Do you know how to take care of them? I put them in soil and gave them some water, but I don’t know how much sunlight they need or if they need any extra nutrients or something. Maybe there’s a book in the library. Remember that book about gardening in the library?”_

_“Ven, that was for flowers,” Aqua plucked one of the dandelions from Ven’s flowerpot and waved it in his face, the yellow petals ticking his nose. “This is a weed, silly.”_

_“A weed? But it looks just like a flower. What’s the difference?”_

_“Dandelions and weeds are plants that grow where they’re not supposed to. They steal the nutrients from other plants instead of making their own. If you don’t get rid of them, before you know it, they’ll have taken over your entire garden!”_

_“I wouldn’t mind that,” Ven protested. “They’re pretty! Especially when they turn all white and fluffy.”_

_“They’re weeds, Ven, we can’t let them grow in our gardens. We need to get rid of them.”_

_“No way!” Ven pulled the flowerpot and his dandelions closer to his body, angling them away from Aqua. “I’ll protect the dandelions.”_

_“Don’t be so ridiculous,” Aqua sighed, but there was that expression that told Ven she wasn’t going to argue with him. “Fine, you can keep the dandelions if you like them that much.” She smiled, the slightest tilt of her lips. “But you still need to explain to the Master why you’re keeping dandelions in our bedroom.”_

* * *

 “You think Vanitas might know something?” Sora offered. “I mean, he is your other half and all.”

“I don’t think it works like that,” Ven replied. “We don’t share any memories and we don’t see each other’s memories. Unless… you think that he has all my memories from before?”

“Maybe! But he’d probably taunt you with them and let you know.”

Ven visibly deflated, sinking deeper into his chair. “...Yeah, you’re right. And if we ask him, he’s never going to tell us. I wish I could read his mind like you and Roxas can.”

“What are you talking about?” Roxas shot up like a bullet from his spot on the floor, tossing aside his book. “We can’t— Sora can’t read my mind! He doesn’t know what I’m thinking!”

Sora smirked. “I bet I can read your mind!”

“Then prove it. What am I thinking of right now?”

“Hm… you’re thinking… you’re _thinking of…”_ Sora hummed in thought, tapping his lip with his finger. “You’re thinking that I can’t tell what you’re thinking!”

“That’s cheating!”

“I was right, wasn’t I?”

Ven’s laugh drowned out the rest of their argument, his worries about Vanitas vanishing with every breath. Spending time with his  _(real)_ friends always took away his worries, and he would always be grateful for that.

_(still, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d get his memories back if he were to become “whole” again)_

* * *

 “Naminé..?”

The door to the girl’s room creaked open, Ven cautiously peering inside. What seemed like hundreds of papers were scattered on the ground, and in the middle was Naminé, drawing as usual.

“Hello, Ventus.”

“Hey. What’re you drawing?”

“It’s… nothing in particular,” Naminé gently closed her sketchbook, setting it aside as she went to stare at Ven with those piercing eyes. Namine was one of Ven’s friends, yes, but sometimes he felt like she could stare right through him and see everything.

Probably because she could.

“Did you need anything, Ven?”

“Yeah, actually,” Ven gently brushed aside some papers to take a seat on the ground, crossing his legs. “You can kinda… see people’s memories, right?”

“You want me to find your lost memory, is that it?” Naminé said without missing a beat.

“Uh-huh,” Ven sighed. “I keep having these strange dreams of these people and I don’t know who they are. I’ve never seen them before, so I was wondering if… maybe, I knew them in the past.”

“What are your dreams about?”

“They’re happy, mostly. I’m just hanging out with them and doing normal friend stuff. I don’t know their names, but I can tell that they’re close to my heart. We all have keyblades and we fight heartless, but I’m not scared in my dream because I know they’re with me,” Ven took a breath. “...Sometimes, though, it turns into a nightmare.”

* * *

  _Ven woke up with a scream that tore through his throat, animalistic and pained. He flailed his limbs, gasping as he struggled for air stolen from his chest. Panic seized his entire body and Ven was left helpless in the darkness, crying and screaming until the_ _door to his bedroom burst and everybody— Terra, Aqua and Eraqus— stormed inside, keyblades at the ready._

_“Ventus! What’s the matter?” Eraqus was by Ven’s side in an instant as Terra and Aqua stood guard, but Ven paid them no heed as he struggled to stitch a sentence through his sobs. In a gentler voice, Eraqus asked, “Was it a nightmare?”_

_Through his blurred vision, Ven nodded and buried his face into Eraqus’ chest, feeling three pairs of arms hold his body until his sobs lulled him back into sleep._

* * *

 “I can’t remember everything clearly, but it’s… dark. There’s death and darkness everywhere and it’s chasing me down this long hallway. And I… I have so many dreams about the keyblade graveyard. Not just when Terra and Aqua and I fought Master Xehanort and Vanitas,” Ven said, for that was an entirely different story. “But I see keybearers fighting and killing each other. I’m trying to find my friends, but I can’t find any of them.”

Not the ones from his dream, not the ones from reality. Naminé nodded solemnly.

“I can… see if it’s your memory,” Naminé said, and there was no mistaking the fear in the wavering voice. “Do you… want me to?”

“Yeah,” Ven said, a little _too_ enthusiastically. “I want to— I _have_ to know. And I trust you, okay?”

“Okay.” Naminé echoed. She picked up her sketchbook and began to draw.

* * *

_nu..mber... three_

_uld... nice … meet…_

_...one… of five…_

_i’m... eph—_

_i’m_

_on... my own_

_wish I had_

_friends_

* * *

 Ven had been sitting in silence for who knew how long, waiting for Naminé to say something, but she was just sitting down and drawing, with her eyes closed. Her sketchbook was turned away so Ven couldn’t see what she was drawing from his position. He was tempted to peek, but decided against it.

Strangely enough, he didn’t feel anything. No funny poking feeling in his head, no foggy memory, nothing. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say that Naminé was just sleeping. In hindsight, that was pretty terrifying and no wonder why Sora couldn’t tell his memories were being messed with.

* * *

  _bl... rain…_

~~_marl ux ia?_ ~~

* * *

 Then there was a sharp pain, burning white-hot, and Ven cried out, clutching his head. Naminé’s eyes flew open and she gasped, dropping her sketchbook on the floor.

“Ven! Ven, are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I didn’t— it was an accident!” Naminé said. She tentatively raised her hand, as if afraid to touch Ven. "I'm so sorry!"

“What… what happened?” The pain was gone, having been replaced by a dull throb. Ven blinked a couple of times, bringing his vision back to normal.

“Memories are… chained together. They’re interlocked and woven. If you follow one, it’ll lead you to another but…” Naminé stared down at her lap, her hands a pale white as she clutched them together. “There was this memory that I couldn’t access. It was blocked off. I tried to see why and that’s when…”

“It’s okay, Naminé. I know you didn’t mean it,” Ven said. “Really, I’m fine. It was just a shock.” Naminé didn’t look entirely convinced, so Ven gave her a smile. “I mean, you were trying to help, and I wanna thank you for that.”

“...Thank you, Ven. I’ve never seen anything like that before. I can get past it, but that would require you to be put to sleep and…”

...Yeah, Ven did _not_ want to fall into another deep sleep. “I think I’ll pass on that, thanks,” he said with a shaky laugh. No thank you.

“Sorry,” Naminé said, but then she grabbed her sketchbook. “I tried to do all that I could, but I only saw some small glimpses of your past memories.”

“Wait, what? You.. saw some of them?”

“Those ones were very close to your heart. They were… blurry, but they were there. Memories are never truly gone, Ven. They’re always there, even if you can’t remember them properly, and these ones must have been memories you cared about deeply.”

“What did you… find?” Ven asked, leaning forward. His head thudded in his chest, _thump thump thump,_ going faster than he could keep up with.

Naminé turned her sketchbook over. On the first page, etched in delicate colours, was a drawing of some people. Not just any group of people, but…

“My friends!” Ven gasped. “That’s… those are my friends from my dream..!”

Naminé nodded and pointed to the first figure. He was wearing a bright red scarf and had fluffy white hair. “That one is Ephemer,” Naminé said, and she then pointed to a girl with long, dark hair and clothing. “Skuld.” Next came an almost shady-looking man hiding under a feathered hat. “Blaine.” Last, there was an almost familiar man, with pink hair and a smile like cat’s. “And… Lauriam.”

(Ven didn’t miss the way Naminé’s hands began to tremble.)

“That’s… their names? That’s who they are?”

“Yes.”

“ _Wow,”_ Ven sat back down, hand on his head. “So… so they _are_ real. They’re not just figments of my imagination. They’re actually people from my memories. They’re my _friends.”_

“Yes, they are. I couldn’t properly see your memories but your bond with them was true. That’s how you were able to remember them, even if it was only in a dream.”

* * *

  _you have friends!_

_right here._

* * *

 “Thanks, Naminé,” Ven said, running his fingers along the paper. “Thank you, really. This is… amazing. Hah! I can’t wait to prove Terra and Aqua wrong with this. They're _not_ imaginary. They're... they really exist! Uh, can I... take this?”

In response, Naminé tore the page off her sketchbook, handing it to Ven. Carefully, he folded it and tucked it inside his pocket.

“Man, this is crazy. They’re _real_ people and they’re… they could still be out there, somewhere. I just need to find them now,” Ven said. “Xion and Roxas were right, too. You think I can ask them to help me find my friends?”

“I’m sure they would be happy to help,” Naminé agreed. “Sora and Riku and everybody else, too. I would love to meet them.”

“Me too,” Ven said. “When we find my friends, I’ll introduce everybody! Okay? I’m one hundred percent sure they’d love you guys. And you’ll like them too. I know I don’t remember much, but in my dreams, they’re good people. We can go out for food or something when we finally meet them again, how about that?"

Naminé smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> (eraqus voice) IS THAT A WEED
> 
> it took everything i had to not make aqua say 'ven you still gotta explain to the master why you're growing weed in your room" skljsadlska i'm a mature adult
> 
> On a more serious note, KHUx, can you give global more story so that I can use a scene other than /that/ single scene in fanfics? I can only milk it so much o^o


End file.
